My Music Diary

Structural Changes on Sitar: Perhaps the most popular ancient string instrument of India, Sitar has reached an unparallel height over the time. The word ‘Sitar’ comes from Persian word ‘She-tar’ the literal meaning of which is ‘Instrument of three strings’. But this is far from sufficient to describe the current form of the instrument. Opinions differ regarding the origin of Sitar. Some of musicologists think that Indian ‘Veena’ was popular as Sitar in Middle East. Others say, Indian three-stringed Veena was called Sitar. In 13 th century, the court musician of Khilji Empire Ala Uddin Khilji was Hazrat Amir Khusro (Bulbul-E-Hind). He was a great poet of that time and writer of many famous books which are regarded as most authentic. It is believed by forefathers of Etawah Gharana that Hazrat Amir Khusro himself was inventor of Sitar. Perhaps, he added three more strings with the four strings of Veena of South India. In Veena, strings were rotated on the peg in opposite direc...

Pt. Indranil Bhattacharya (April 1942- September 2001) has been a legend in his own life time. Born in Calcutta Indranil had a rich legacy behind him. Son of the Legendary Timir Baran - the father of Indian orchestra, Indranil hailed from a family of scholar, priests , and musicians. He traces his lineage to Jadu Bhatta - the doyen of Vishnupur Gharana . Great men of religion like Ramkrishna Parahamsa Dev, Swami Vivekananda, Bama Khepa were regular visitors to their house for religious discourses. Initiated into sitar by his own cousin brother the Late Amiya Kanti Bhattacharya - the celebrated disciple of Ustad Enayet Khansahib (father and guru of the great sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan), Indranil subsequently travelled to Maihar which became his home for the next ten years, where he received rigorous training under the watchful eyes of the great Guru Baba Allauddin Khan Sahib. Once out of Maihar, Indranil after much struggle, hit the head lines in the year 1966 in Bombay afte...